This week of the fall raptor migration brought a total of 1,414 raptors. The week started off slowly with migration picking up Wednesday and remaining fairly steady through Sunday. The most active days for migration being Wednesday the 16th with 321 raptors and Saturday the 19th with 347 raptors counted.
The stars of the show, this week, were Sharp-Shinned Hawks and Turkey Vultures, whose sightings really picked up toward the middle of the week, followed by Bald Eagles and Broad-Winged Hawks. Some other frequent fliers were the American Kestrels and Red-Tailed Hawks as well as some notable appearances of Merlins, Peregrine Falcons, Ospreys, Northern Harriers, Cooper’s Hawk and a Red-Shouldered Hawk.
Some other exciting guest appearances were made this past week as well, the most exciting being the sighting of an adult Parasitic Jaeger (a gull-like bird of the Arctic) on Tuesday the 15th! Other noteworthy observations included the first of the fall Lapland Longspur and Rusty Blackbird, which were seen on Thursday the 17th. Last but surely not least, and for our insect enthusiasts, we counted a total of 687 migrating Monarchs this week with the highest count being Monday the 14th with 464 Monarchs making their way south!